


Drive

by ratwoman



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AO3 1 Million, Beige Prose, Experimental, Gen, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 13:28:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1187025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ratwoman/pseuds/ratwoman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin is a weakling. Surely he can't do this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drive

 Every part of his body hurt.

Somedays, it was hard for Armin to convince himself to keep going. To convince himself not to quit. Today was one of those days. They weren't doing any particularly advanced exercises today. It was stamina and strength building. His legs carried him over the running track. He wasn't quite sure if he could feel them anymore.

It was starting to feel like floating.

Shadis breaked them for lunch.

Armin didn't join the others. Instead he fell to his knees in the dirt. His chest rose and fell. It was too quick.

His head hurt.

“Are you alright?” The voice said. He forced himself to look up. There was Mikasa. She looked as she always did. She looked unfazed. But Armin could pick out more things. There was a light sheen of sweat covering her forehead. It was on her neck too. She was just a bit short of breath.

He spoke. “I... don't... know.” His voice came between heavy gasps for air.

“Do you need us to help you?” Another voice said. Eren.

Armin tried to speak again, but it wasn't there. Instead he nodded.

Eren and Mikasa looked at each other. Armin felt left out sometimes, because they could have conversations with a glance. They knelt down, and looped his arms over their shoulders.

They lifted him off the ground. They were taller than him, so they had to bend their knees a bit to keep him up right. “Is this better?” Mikasa asked.

“Yeah,” Armin said. He was still short of breath. “I think I can walk from here.”

“You need water,” Eren disagreed. He sprinted away. Armin marveled at how he still had the strength.

He looked at Eren's retreating figure. Then he looked at Mikasa. This was why he kept going.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this is a rather rushed little piece in celebration of AO3's millionth work. 
> 
> It's an experimental piece I wrote to practice using beige prose (think Hemingway) and to explore a facet of Armin's character, as to how he interacts with Eren and Mikasa and how he draws strength from them (until later in the series when he begins to draw his strength from himself).
> 
> Hopefully this wasn't too boring.


End file.
